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Press Release

Bakersfield Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

FRESNO, Calif. — Roman Rodriguez, 26, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to receipt and distribution of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, between Feb. 18, 2024, and Feb. 22, 2024, Rodriguez used an iPhone and the internet to receive and distribute more than 600 images containing visual depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included depictions of the sexual exploitation of prepubescent minors and at least one toddler.

This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany M. Gunter is prosecuting the case.

Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. Rodriguez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.

Updated January 13, 2025

Topic
Project Safe Childhood